Speaker Profile
Donna Wilson
Donna Wilson is Executive Vice President – Workforce and Sustainability Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
Donna Wilson has made working with people and organizations the focus of her career. As Executive Vice President of Workforce and Sustainability, she is playing a key role in helping VANOC define and develop its culture. She will guide the organization through its dynamic stages of growth, operation and wind-down and help the organization to live its vision of sustainability.
Wilson sums up her broad scope of responsibilities in one short sentence: “I’m responsible for everything that has to do with people, relationships, and lasting legacy.” Specifically, this includes hiring the 1,400 paid employees and some 25,000 volunteers that will eventually work for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Wilson also oversees the official languages portfolio – a key element in VANOC’s vision of building a stronger Canada by celebrating its duality of languages. Donna’s other key areas are human resources, sustainability, Aboriginal participation, International Client Services and Games-time Interpretation Services.
Underscoring all these functions is what Wilson sees as her most critical role: VANOC’s culture keeper and catalyst. “I’ve always enjoyed taking care of the health of an organization and helping it identify what it needs to flourish,” says Wilson. "My goal is to ensure our values are integrated into all of our people practices, enabling our workforce to galvanize around them and show the world a strong Canadian spirit."